Is there musical life after graduation? Mining the resources of an understudied population

Abstract

The preponderance of published research in the music education literature concerns the teaching, musical responses, or preferences of people who encompass kindergarten through baccalaureate levels of formal school settings. This may be understandable, in that most people whose profession is `music education' spend many hours each day working with a school population. Nevertheless, `music behavior' is not limited to people who are youthful and, in fact, music education's commitment to lifelong learning can be enhanced by stretching the parameters of the populations and research questions included in our research. The stereotype that music educators are only interested in, and only qualified to discuss, school/university bands, choruses, or general music needs to be put to rest, and research may offer an excellent venue for opening all our minds a bit. This paper offers rationales and suggestions for including nontraditional participants into research projects, with special emphasis on adults in midlife and in senior years. Topics discussed include: (1) an argument in favor of expanding music research to a population not yet studied extensively, (2) an overview of which people constitute the `geriatric' population, (3) research questions of particular relevance, (4) identifying where these people may be studied and enlisting participation, (5) special considerations when dealing with these populations, and (6) ways in which research projects may enhance community musical participation. Citations of extant studies are used to sow ideas, with a strong emphasis on thinking `outside the box' in developing music education research agendas.